Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 410 - 36 Little Skull_1

Chapter 410: Chapter 36 Little Skull_1

"Hey, stop crying." Vivian was the first to panic at the sudden onset of crying. Regardless of her extensive knowledge or her impressive fighting skills, it was impossible to hide the fact that she had been bedridden for over a decade, her heart almost akin to that of a young child. So when the grave and solemn voice suddenly turned into a little girl’s sharp crying, Vivian felt like she had done something wrong. She hastily tried to comfort the skeleton taller than herself: "Please stop crying, I’ll put the bottle away. We won’t bully you. Please, stop crying."

The Skeleton King covered his face - or to be precise, his dark eye sockets. When he heard Vivian’s words, he paused. After quietly observing the five surrounding people for a few seconds, he started crying again: "Waa, I don’t believe you. You all bully me. You’re all bad people. Waa, I want my mommy, woo woo woo."

Vivian, rubbing her soft hat in frustration, turned to Lina for help. But a bitter smile and a helpless shake of her head was Lina’s response - a clear sign that she had no solution to the current predicament. Vivian then turned towards Catherine for help. Catherine sighed deeply, moving to stand in front of the Skeleton King who was kneeling on the ground. After a moment of hesitation, Catherine placed her hand on the King’s bare skull. She gently traced her fingers over his skull as she said, "Child, stop crying. It was wrong of us to scare you. We’re sorry. Don’t worry, as long as you don’t attack us, we won’t hurt you."

"Really?" It seemed that Catherine had a natural affinity with children - Annie the banshee, and now this Skeleton King, both showed an unusual trust in Catherine. Hearing Catherine’s promise, the Skeleton King gradually stopped crying and asked cautiously, "You really won’t hurt me?"

"Yes, we’re not bad people. We won’t hurt others for no reason." Catherine responded gently, with a warm smile, "Look, just now. We only scared you because you attacked us first. As long as you’re not hostile, we won’t attack you."

"I’m sorry." The Skeleton King bowed his head, apologizing, "I didn’t mean to harm you guys, but when I saw you getting closer, I got scared. That’s why I took control of the others and tried to shoo you away."

"It’s okay. Everything’s just a misunderstanding." Catherine pacified him, "So don’t be sad, let’s sit down and have a talk, okay?"

"Okay, but sissy, wait for a bit." The Skeleton King raised his arm and just as he was about to move, he stopped. He then asked, "You really won’t hurt me, and you’ll really talk to me?"

"Of course." Catherine, exuding patience, answered again, "I promise, on my knight’s honor, that we won’t hurt you."

"I trust sissy." The Skeleton King placed his hands on his half-armored sternum and easily plucked a few ribs from his empty chest cavity, pulling out a small skull from within. The skull was small, it obviously belonged to a child, and boasted a couple of short horns which suggested it came from a Deer Clan Beastman. The Skeleton King held the skull in his hand and handed it over to a nondescript headless skeleton beside him, which then placed the small skull on its neck vertebrae.

Once the skull was removed, the Skeleton King - like the other Bone Knights surrounding as a guard - was steered by the small skeleton to move aside, standing still like a stake. The small skeleton moved its neck around, pleased with the fitting of the skull, and then turned towards Catherine. Its jaw rattled but no words came out.

"Annie, come out and help." Catherine chuckled and tapped on the pendant she wore, "Help cast a spell on her that lets her communicate with us."

"Eh?" The little banshee popped her head out from the pendant, looking puzzled. She jumped out, surprised, "Brothers and sisters, who is this little guy?"

"I’m not a little guy!" It appeared that Annie had accomplished her task, as the little skeleton could now speak normally. She gave Annie a scornful look and said, "I am the king of this meadow, the ruler of here and tens, no, hundreds, no, thousands of skeletons! You, that invisible monster, dare to call me ’little guy?’ I will teach you a lesson, make you understand how to respect a great existence like me."

"But, you are a little guy." Annie tilted her head adorably. She ran to the little skeleton, comparing their heights, and bit her finger as she questioned, "Look, you’re even shorter than me, and so thin, you must be a little guy."

"Nonsense, I am the most magnificent Skeleton King." The little skeleton flailed its arms threateningly at the little banshee, "I am the ruler of this land. You are stepping on my territory, you better kneel to me."

"You two." Catherine knocked on both of their heads, "Behave well and don’t quarrel with each other. Now apologize to each other, say you’re sorry."

"Hmph, you’re a liar." The small skeleton hugged its head and sulked in the corner, "You promised not to bully me."

"Really?" Catherine had a half-smile, eyeing the little skeleton. True to its name, the skeleton was really small, even with the horns on its skull, it wasn’t even a meter tall. Each bone was thin and delicate, appeared fragile as if it would snap at the lightest touch. However, unlike the pallid color of other skeletons, its skeleton had a warm, ivory-like sheen. Under Catherine’s stern gaze, the small skeleton’s grumble gradually grew quieter until, reluctantly, it gave in and muttered a small, "Sorry."

"Hmph." Annie was in the midst of making her victory speech when Pannis knocked on her head, subduing her. Reluctantly, she bent down and apologized, "It was my fault, I apologize."

The scene of an elder pacifying young children and helping them bridge disputes, left the other three women at a loss. Lina massaged her aching head, muttering softly, "Why did things suddenly turn out this way? It’s too strange. Weren’t we here to solve a problem? Why have we now become babysitters?"

"Times change." Vivian randomly quoted an ancient proverb, though it was unclear whether she was comforting Lina or herself.

"Anyway, coaxing a child is definitely better than fighting." Marcia was very satisfied with the current situation and nodded, saying, "Everyone getting along peacefully, there’s really no better outcome than this."

"Let’s go, let’s chat down there." Catherine took the little skeleton’s delicate hand and led it down Bone Mountain, the little skeleton obediently followed suit. Holding its hand, Catherine felt that though its hand bones were cold, they’re smooth and dry, completely lacking the disgusting and terrifying rotting smell and slimy feel that one imagines from a skeleton. Once they descended Bone Mountain, the little and big ’people’ casually sat down, only then did Catherine ask the little skeleton, "What’s your name?"

"The king, um, okay, stop glaring at me." Under Catherine’s intense gaze, the little skeleton changed its self-introduction: "I’m called Little Deer, also called Jumpy, but people at home always call me Little Deer."

"Huh?" Catherine asked in confusion: "Don’t you have a real name?"

"Little Deer is a name." The little skeleton returned the question weirdly: "Didn’t I just tell you?"

"Beastmen hold a pre-adult ceremony at the age of ten and reach adulthood at twelve." Pannis, who was also carrying Annie, followed and explained to Catherine at this time, "Only a child who has held a pre-adult ceremony will have a formal name. Before that, they’re referred to by their nickname."

"Oh, I see, I forgot." Catherine slapped her forehead and said with a wry smile: "Alright then, shall we call you Little Deer?"

"Mm, okay." Little Deer swiftly nodded in agreement, as if hearing someone call her by this nickname brought her immense joy.

"So, Little Deer, could you tell your brothers and sisters here what’s been going on here?" Catherine asked: "And if it’s okay, could you tell us about yourself?"

"What happened?" Little Deer tilted her head. Though its skeleton face didn’t show any expressions, everyone managed to see confusion in her Soul Fire: "Nothing much happened."

"Uh..." Catherine struggled to find the words: "Could you tell us about your past? Like, um, when you were... still alive. Then tell us what happened after you woke up this time?"

"Oh, sister wants to know about that." Little Deer scratched her head in a very human-like way, her jawbone moving as if she was grinning: "I don’t remember much about when I was alive."

"That’s okay." Catherine felt a mix of amusement and sadness watching a skeleton make these gestures, she couldn’t bring herself to laugh: "Just mention what you can remember, if there are parts you can’t recall, don’t force yourself."

"Hold on a second." Pannis abruptly interrupted the conversation between the humans and the skeleton, he looked back at the canyon referred to as the Holy Spirit Corridor with a frown, "We’ve wasted too much time, the scale of that fight was quite big, the undead who were left behind earlier have caught up. We should figure out how to deal with those skeletons first, then we can focus on the storytelling."

The ladies stood up and pulled out their weapons with stern looks on their faces. The short break of just a few minutes not only didn’t restore their strength but made them feel even more tired. Lina and Vivian exchanged glances, expressing their difficulty: "My mana is running low, drinking a potion now would be a waste. Not that we’re wasting potions, but we’re wasting the usage of potions."

"I’m almost out too." Vivian chimed in: "I’m nearing my limit for absorbing energy from the crystals, if I continue to absorb, it might cause a Magic Channel Backlash so I dare not absorb anymore."

"Then it’s up to the three of us to stall for now." Catherine raised her shield and couldn’t help but frown, even with her physical conditioning, the shield felt very heavy: "Pannis, how many are coming?"

"Cannot count." Pannis’s eyes twitched: "A lot, a lot."

"What’s wrong, brothers and sisters? Don’t you want to meet them?" Little Deer, the little skeleton, looked curiously at the suddenly serious group of people. As if having understood something, she nodded: "Then... ok, I’ll drive them away."

"Huh?" The ladies looked at the little skeleton in surprise: "You can control that many?"

"No." Little Deer answered: "But I can give them the illusion that you are no longer here, then they will naturally leave following your illusion."

"Alright, now we can chat in peace." Catherine smiled, sitting back down in front of Little Deer. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to vote and buy monthly passes at qidian.com. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com for reading.)